Her
by PrincessTiva
Summary: "But you haven't moved on from her." No, he hadn't. But he didn't have to move on anymore. Tiva. One-shot. Tag to 12x06.


**A/N: And as I had previously announced, here's the second version of the idea (thanks again Mary, werealljustwinginit, for inspiring me sooooo much lately!) :)  
>Summary:<strong> "But you haven't moved on from her." No, he hadn't. But he didn't have to move on anymore. Tiva. One-shot. Tag to 12x06.  
><strong>Disclaimer: <strong>I don't own NCIS or any of its characters. What a surprise!  
><strong>Please enjoy reading! :)<strong>

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><p>Tony glanced around the bullpen to make sure nobody was around, then re-opened his desk drawer. He pulled the necklace out yet again and smiled faintly. His gaze shifted to the black velvet box, and with trembling fingers he took it from the drawer as well. He put the box into his pocket, and held onto the necklace. There was no way he would let go of it. Except for in two weeks, that was. A small smile spread across his face as he thought about the talk with Abby earlier that day. He would have probably been really mad and upset because she had brought it up. But he wasn't. He just hoped he had done a decent job covering it up. Abby had been able to see through one facade. Would she be able to see through the second one, too?<p>

"_But you haven't moved on from her."_

Those words had stuck with him. It was true. He had moved on from having to leave Ziva behind in Israel, but he hadn't moved on from her.

Which was exactly why he had reached out to her a month ago. The one year anniversary of having to leave her behind had made him realize that he could indeed not put his entire life on hold, waiting for her to show up. So, he had sent her an email. Realizing he didn't have her new phone number, email had been his only option.

To his surprise, she had replied only hours later, telling him that she wasn't completely sure whether it was a good idea, but that she couldn't stay away after he had reached out to her.

Tony smiled as he remembered reading that email. The same night, he had called his dad who had been a little surprised to hear from him. And even more surprised when Tony had asked him for his mother's ring. "Didn't think you would move on from her that quickly," his dad had said. Tony had let the statement hang in the air, unable to put into words what the whole thing was really about. If he couldn't even explain it to himself, how was he supposed to tell anyone else? Thankfully, his dad hadn't asked any further questions but had instead agreed to meet up with Tony for a weekend. It had been a nice weekend, much nicer than Tony had anticipated. And his dad had still not asked any further questions. He had given the ring to him, and said, "I hope she's worth it." Hell yeah, she was!

Truth be told, Tony wasn't entirely sure what had made him make that particular move. And at that point he hadn't even been sure what was going to happen in regards to Ziva.

A week ago, she had contacted him again. She had asked for a skype call, and as if seeing her face for the first time in one year hadn't been enough, she had held up a piece of paper. A flight ticket. To DC.

She was scheduled to arrive in two weeks from now, and Tony had been trying hard to keep his promise. One of Ziva's conditions for coming home had been that he keep her a secret. At first he had been more than upset with said condition, but then he had agreed. Because having her live with him in secret was better than not having her around. He could make it work. Somehow. And he was certain that after she had settled in, she would be comfortable enough to tell the rest of the team.

After today, Tony was however slightly worried about Abby. She was apparently able to see right through him. She had noticed that he'd been lying about dates and being happy.

"_I know you, Tony. The real you. Not the 'fake happy front you put up'-you. This whole random act of dating...nobody's buying it, okay? We know you're lonely. And we know why. Ziva."_

And she had noticed how he had been avoiding Ziva's name for the past year. Truth was, he had used it once, maybe twice, when talking to Ziva. But he hadn't used it on any other occasion. And God, it had been so hard to say that single word today. Abby had literally forced him to say it, but it had been so hard to actually make his mouth work. It shouldn't be that hard. But he couldn't help it.

He was pretty certain Abby had been able to see right through his lie as well. Technically he hadn't outright lied. "_She said no. She didn't wanna come back. That's that. I have moved on from it." _That wasn't exactly a lie. She had said no, and that she didn't wanna come back. And he had faced that, had moved on from that. But "that's that" wasn't true. She was coming back after all.

His other lie though, Abby had clearly identified. The "I miss my friend"-part. Clearly, Ziva wasn't his 'friend'. She was so much more than that. And Abby knew that. Even if she didn't know about the most recent developments.

Tony looked at the necklace in his hand, and slipped the velvet box into his pocket with his other hand._ "But you haven't moved on from her."_ No, he hadn't. But he didn't have to move on anymore. The waiting had paid off. She was coming home.

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><p><strong>AN: And there you goooo! The second version ;) Please let me know what you think in the reviews section below :) I'd also love to hear which of the two version you liked more!  
>Kisses,<br>~ C.**


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